


The Maquerade

by Ohmycowspotatoes



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Australia aye, F/M, I love making this more dramatic than it needs to be, Masquerade, back in 2019, first fic I wrote, slight romance, tbh it’s more plot focused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohmycowspotatoes/pseuds/Ohmycowspotatoes
Summary: When Carmen has a caper attending a Masquerade Ball in an Art Gallery in Newcastle, Australia, she doesn’t expect a certain someone to be there.
Relationships: Gray | Crackle/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	1. Arriving

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in December 2019(originally posted it on Wattpad) so I think I’ve improved since then, but I thought I’d post this here anyways, before I post some of my newer work.

Carmen sipped some punch from the glass in her hand while her eyes scanned over faces of the people around her. Each of them, wearing a mask that covered their eyes and sometimes their entire face. Carmen knew that this was a masquerade, so of course they would be wearing masks, but she wished that it didn't make her job a lot harder. 

What was her job exactly and what was she doing here, at a masquerade ball in Newcastle, Australia? 

A few days ago, Player, after listening to old V.I.L.E. faculty room recordings, found out that they were planning to steal a priceless piece of art that was going to be displayed at a palatial banquet hall in Newcastle. The only people who were invited to this event were wealthy art collectors and famous artists—and their plus-ones.

Getting Carmen onto the guest list was the easy part. Player just hacked into it, and added Carmen as a plus-one to some random artist that wasn't bringing anyone. The hard part was figuring out exactly what art piece V.I.L.E. wanted to snatch. Player used to be able to tune into V.I.L.E. planning sessions all the time but since V.I.L.E. Island was destroyed, he's only been able to find snippets of messages between the faculty members. Most of the messages were vague and strange but they might've been coded. V.I.L.E must know that someone was monitoring them.

Now, normally Carmen would not have gone on a caper with such little background information but the ball was one day away and she had a choice to make. She could risk falling into a trap by arriving very uninformed to rescue an art piece she barely knew the details of, OR she could let a very important artifact fall into the filthy hands of V.I.L.E..

She chose the first option.

So here Carmen was now, standing near the food tables and looking for anything suspicious. She had to leave her usual evening attire in the coat closet because it would be unusual to wear it inside and might attract unwanted attention. Instead, she wore a red ankle-length dress with golden strappy sandals. She chose this particular dress because of it's detachable skirt and it's small pockets that were hidden by the folds of fabric. Her was hair pulled in a bun with a tiny braid wrapped around it. Since this was a masquerade, she wore a simple golden mask. She had to leave most of her tools with her coat but she still managed to hide a few in the her pockets.

She hoped that whatever V.I.L.E. operative was on the case would be stupid enough to wear a mask related to their code name, that would make it easy to spot them, like what happened in Rio. But it's unlikely they would make the same mistake again. She decided to check if Player had found out more information .

"Hey Red, I've haven't been able to find the exact piece, but I have been able to narrow it down to five",  
Said Player's voice through the earpiece in her earring.

"Well that's something at least. What do they look like?" Carmen asked, making sure to keep her voice low.

Player explained that there were three paintings that were worth over a 100,000 dollars but there were also two others whose price was not yet determined but might be worth over 500,000 dollars.

"Great", said Carmen sarcastically. "Now I have to keep my eyes on five paintings at once"

"Don't worry", Player said. "I've hacked into the security camera system so I watch them all at the same time. But you need be on a look out for V.I.L.E. operatives. If you can stop them before they reach the painting then it'll create a lot less of a scene."

"Thanks Player, I hope that works" , Carmen said.

After a while, Carmen decided to take a walk though the gallery next to the banquet hall, which was where the paintings were being put on display. She spotted all the ones Player had mentioned. They definitely were breathtakingly beautiful.

She noticed one of the art collectors that were in charge of the event standing not too far from her and she got an idea. She called over a waiter who was holding a tray filled with glasses of juice. 

"Would you like a-", he started before Carmen interrupted with "What do you think about these paintings?"

"Well, I'd say that they're amazing." He replied.

"Amazing, indeed", she agreed. "It would be absolutely tragic if one of them were stolen." She said solemnly.

"Well, that's very unlikely" 

"But haven't you heard about the news about the art thief that's been going around and stealing expensive paintings in this area?" She asked, making sure that her voice was loud and clear.

"Sorry miss, I haven't." The waiter said looking around. He was eager to end this conversation and serve other guests.

In the corner of her eye, Carmen saw the art collector watching her closely. He definitely was listening to her. Perfect.

"All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt to add some more security around here." She said.

The waiter mumbled a quiet "Yes, miss", before moving on.

The next time Carmen went to look at the paintings, there was an extra guard stationed there. It worked!, she thought to herself.

She was about to go back to the hall when she saw a sweep of brown hair that looked strangely familiar. It wasn't of any V.I.L.E. operative that she knew but she neither did she know anyone else that would be here. Unless it was a certain Australian electrician...—no, that wouldn't make sense.

******************

It had been over an hour since Carmen arrived and she was still waiting.  
Waiting for a V.I.L.E. operative to show up, or for a painting to disappear, or to find out who the person she saw earlier was. But nothing was happening.

There were a lot of people dancing but she decided not to join them because if she got caught in the crowd of dancers, then she might not be able to slip out fast enough if she spotted an operative.

******************

Two hours now, that Carmen had been waiting. At this point she was starting to doubt if she had gotten the place or date wrong. 

Then,  
she spotted her.  
Short, pale blond hair and a caterer's uniform.


	2. The Exit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go

  
Tigress was here....well not here, more like all the way on the other side of the banquet hall. That didn't make a difference though, right?

Wrong.

Splitting the hall in half was a large dance floor. That shouldn't have been difficult for Carmen to cross, except that the announcer had chosen that exact moment to call everyone to the dance floor. Before Carmen even reached it, the dance floor was filled with couples waltzing, blocking her path completely.

She could just shove through crowd but then Tigress would be sure to notice the assembly of dancers parting to allow passage to a rude interruption dressed in red.

She decided to update Player. "Player, I've spotted Tigress. She's wearing a caterer's uniform, which is probably how she sneaked in."

"Took V.I.L.E. long enough to show up", Player replied. "Though I'm surprised she didn't come through the back door of the gallery, I guess it's because it's less suspicious however less convenient. Anyways, are you sure she's the only one on the job?" He asked.

"It looks like it. If V.I.L.E. is only after one painting then they don't really need more than one operative on the case."

"True. Where are you now?" Player asked, but it was hard to hear him over the music.

Carmen moved to a quieter corner before answering. "On the side of the dance floor opposite to Tigress. I would get closer but it's going to be hard to get through the crowd of dancers."

"Why don't you just dance your way through? It'll be much easier and you'll blend in." Player suggested.

"I'll try, I do know a bit about Ballroom Dancing from Countess Cleo’s lesson, but it’s not really my style. Kind of boring, honestly." Carmen admitted.

"Good luck then. I'll keep watch on the paintings and also hack into the security cameras for the banquet hall. Remember that Zack and Ivy are in the area if you need backup." He reminded her before tuning off. 

******************

Carmen tried to squeeze her way through without stepping on anyone's feet or bumping into them.

Which is exactly what she proceeded to do.

Someone's shoulder collided with her arm. Carmen stepped back in surprise and raised her fists, redy for combat.

"Sorry!" She heard a voice call out behind her. She spun around and saw a black suit with a matching bow tie and that same familiar hair again. 

Carmen lowered her hands awkwardly. It was just some guest at the ball not a V.I.L.E. operative. 

The person seemed to be studying her strangely but it was hard to tell because of the mask on his face.

Carmen quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure that Tigress was still where she had seen her last, but dancing couples kept blocking her view. I guess I'm really going to have to dance my way though, she thought.

"So uh, would you like to dance?" The stranger asked, bringing her back to the present.

"Sure, I was going to ask you the same thing." She said. For some reason that seemed to calm him a little.

As they swayed to the music and twirled around the dance floor, Carmen made sure she could see Tigress at all times. Right now she wasn't doing much, just arranging plates of sweets and desserts on a table. 

Carmen didn't really care about talking to her dance partner, she was only dancing because of her mission. He didn't seem to get the message though.

"So where are you from?" 

"From here and there. I travel a lot." She said, sounding uninterested.

"That's so cool! I know someone that travels around the world and runs a children's charity."

Wait. A children's charity? Now that she thought about it the stranger's voice sounded awfully familiar. She looked away from Tigress to finally look at her dance partner. Gray? Although she didn't know why, her heart might have skipped a beat.

"Are you here with someone or were you invited?" The-person-who-might-be-Gray asked, trying to keep the conversation going after he noticed her silence.

She was tempted to ask him right then and there, if he was who she thought he was, but then a possibility stopped her. Why was he here? Could it be because of V.I.L.E?

"Uh I'm here with my friend-" She said, stumbling with her words before she rambled off the name Player had told her.

"I think I saw her earlier. How did you meet her?"

"I met her at a yoga class" Carmen said quickly. She wanted get to the other side as fast she could and end this conversation. Even though a part of her wanted to keep dancing...

"Really?" He said, his eyebrows furrowing. "I thought she was in a wheelchair?" 

"That doesn't mean she incapable of all physical movement" She replied.

"Oh sorry, my mistake." Probably-Gray said, a little surprised since he thought he had caught her in her lie.

"It's fine. Anyways where are you from?" Carmen asked, trying to be casual again.

"Only about an hour from here. I live in Sydney." 

Sydney, Australia? At this point, Carmen did not need any more information to confirm the strangers identity. And yet she couldn't help but ask, "What's your name?"

"Graham. You know, like a cracker" he said with a smile that she couldn't help returning. "You?"

Her smile faded. Should I tell him the truth? He seems like his normal self but there's no logical explanation but V.I.L.E. to why he might be here, she thought, her thoughts at war with themselves. In the end she just mumbled, "Karen."

His face expression was hard to decipher. He might've been disappointed, or maybe he didn't believe her, or   
both. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the faint sound of an alarm before it turned off.  
Oh.  
No.

Carmen let go of Gray and saw someone in a black and white caterer's uniform carrying what looked like a large tray covered in tinfoil. It might've been a caterer doing their job if it wasn't for that pale blond hair and the fact that she was heading towards the exit.

Carmen mentally slapped herself in the face. How could she have been so stupid and distracted!

Seeing Carmen's face go pale, Gray started to ask "Is something-" before she ran after Tigress.

Carmen sprinted past a potted decorative plant whose branches were painted gold. The ribbon of her mask snagged on one of the branches, undoing the knot and making the mask slip off her face and onto the ground. 

"Wait!" A voice called out. Carmen knew she shouldn't have turned around but she did. It was just for a second that she locked eyes with Graham, but it was enough for him to know her identity. His face flashed through many different emotions at once.

Surprise.  
Confusion.  
And a hint of betrayal.

"Carmen?"

She didn't look back this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 1150  
> Love Dramatic Exits!
> 
> This originally it took me forever to finish, I really tried to make it sound good but I'm not professional so feel free to give me feedback! Also since this was written in 2019, I’m not sure if there are any plot elements that might’ve been wrong after Season 3 and the interactive episode came out. I have a couple of ideas on what happens next, and why Graham is here, but it’s been quite a while since I worked on it, and decided not to continue it. However if people are interested, I could give it a shot!

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count: 1075  
> The second part is going to be posted very soon!


End file.
